Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Robert Wyatt tribute on new Mary Halvorson album

Mary Halvorson pays tribute to Robert Wyatt on the forthcoming album "Illusionary Sea" (Firehouse 12) scheduled for September release. The tribute is in the form of an arrangement of the source for ‘Maryan’ ('Nairam' by Philip Catherine), from Wyatt's album Shleep.

"The first time I heard Robert Wyatt was in 2006 when a friend played me Rock Bottom (1974). I still remember the feeling of hearing the first track, “Sea Song.” I was sitting on my living room floor in front of the stereo. It was one of those rare moments when you are so completely bowled over by a piece of music that you don’t know what to think. I wasn’t even sure I liked it; I was just completely freaked out. The music was so beautiful, so strange, incredibly dark, and entirely unlike anything I’d heard. That’s what I love about Wyatt’s music. He’s not weird for the sake of being weird. The music is purely his own."

As a bonus today, you all get Mary Halvorson Quintet: NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert from February 2013.